I Never Knew That About You
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: Future Fic. Annie and Jeff learn five things about each other when they move in together.
1. Chapter 1

Even though you could already know someone for several years, there are certain things about people you just didn't learn about them until you've lived with them and saw them on a daily continuous basis. Jeff came to realize this when he and Annie decided to get their own place and move in together. While they each learned several new aspects about each other, five things in particular that Jeff learned about Annie stuck out.

**Number One**: Annie liked Stephen King books. A lot.

This discovery was made when they first moved in. As they were unpacking all their many boxes (you never know how much stuff you own until you pack it all up), Jeff noticed a box that was labeled _S K Books_ in Annie's handwriting. When he opened it he found it was filled with Stephen King novels. It looked like she had close to half of everything the author had written. He pulled out _Cujo_, _The Shinning_, _Carrie_, _Salam's Lot_, _The Dead Zone_, _Firestarter_, _The Running Man_, _Pet Cemetery_, _Misery_, _Nightmares and Dreamscapes_, _Lisey's Story_, and several other books.

Even though he figured she had to be a horror fan after the gruesome story she told at Britta's pre-Halloween party, Jeff was still surprised. He had never really taken Annie for a fan of scary gruesome horror books, even after the werewolf story. He had already unpacked some other books from her collection and so far nothing he found was that surprising. He had found all of her textbooks from Greendale, all of the Twilight and Happy Potter books, several Jane Austin novels, some stories from Nora Roberts. But this was something rather unexpected.

"Annie!"

"Yea Jeff," she called out from the kitchen.

"I didn't know you liked Stephen King."

She walked into the living room holding a handful of pot holders. "Yea. I've been a fan of him since I was eleven. You don't like him?"

"I've read a few Stephen King books. But you have about twenty here. I just never would have pegged you for a fan of this kind of stuff."

"Even after the story I told that one Halloween," she said with a smirk. Annie walked over to Jeff and glanced over at the pile of books before looking into his eyes. "Jeff, you know all the problems I had growing up, right? With my parents and my mom and school and everything. Well, when things were getting bad I started reading these books, because they made me feel better about myself. I used to read all these horribly gruesome stories and I would think, at least that's not happening to me. And it made me feel better about myself. Like, even though my parents were fighting all the time, at least I didn't have to worry about reanimated corpses. Or when they got divorced and I was living with just my mother. Even though that was bad, it was better than being able to see horrible deaths before they happened. And even though I was made fun of in high school, I at least never had girls dump pigs blood on me."

Jeff smiled as he looked at Annie, no longer finding it that strange that she would be drawn to stories like that. He knew when he was growing up he found his own ways of dealing with his own pain. And reading as an escape from your problems was probably better then what he used to do (skip school and cause general mischief.)

Later on as he helped her organize and catalogue all the books on their bookshelf he decided that he would get her a new Stephen King book each year they were together.

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**Number Two**: Annie LOVES honey roasted peanuts with ice cream sundaes.

Overall Jeff was still very health conscious. But ever since the whole high cholesterol/Pierce's mom dying incident, he came to realize that the amount of time you had was uncertain no matter what you did. So while he still watched what he ate, he now allowed himself to periodically relax his food intake standers.

This mostly extended to Sunday nights. Not long after they moved in together it started becoming an unofficial tradition to pick up a pint of ice cream and share it while watching TV. Luckily they both had similar tastes, so there were never any arguments when it came to what flavors to get.

As for toppings though, Jeff was more of a purist. He preferred to eat his ice cream mostly as it was. If they had some chocolate sauce or cherries in the fridge he'd add that. But he didn't need a lot of toppings.

Annie was another mater. If she had it her way she's pile on anything that was within range. It always amused him when they were at a sundae bar and she tried to put as many toppings on as possible. While she showed more restraint at home, she still liked to put a lot of stuff on her sundaes. She'd put on hot fudge, and whipped cream, and sprinkles, and cherries. If they happened to have oreos lying around she'd even crush up a couple and sprinkle the pieces on.

But her absolute favorite ice cream topping above all others was honey roasted peanuts. Regular nuts she could take or leave. But honey roasted peanuts with ice cream were her aphrodisiac. She'd pour so much in her bowl that Jeff would often joke that she had more nuts then ice cream. It never seemed to both her. She'd simply shrug and say that she liked them with ice cream.

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**Number Three**: Annie didn't like to eat strawberries.

This discovery was something Jeff would never have guessed. Considering Annie's preference for strawberry scented shampoo and candles, he figured she'd love strawberries. But it turned out that wasn't the case.

The day Jeff found this out he was in a romantic mood. Not just horny and wanting sex, but actual romance (it's amazing what dating that woman had done to him). So while he was out he planned a romantic night in for them. As he picked up supplies he got a box of strawberries and some whipped cream, the idea being that they'd eat the traditionally sensual food off of each other's bodies.

The night started out really well. After a candle lit dinner they went to their bedroom. They removed each other's clothes, with Jeff then carrying Annie over to the bed. She giggled in anticipation, but frowned when Jeff brought out the whipped cream and strawberries. "What you got there Jeff?"

"I thought we'd put this stuff on each other and lick it off," he said as he got on the bed and crawled towards her.

"Aw Jeff, that's sweet. But actually, I don't like strawberries."

He stopped crawling as he looked at her in confusion. "What? No, of course you do." He leaned in and smelled her hair as he gestured to the scented candles on the dresser. "Your hair smells like strawberries, and that mixed berry candle over there had strawberry in it."

"I like the _smell_ of strawberries Jeff. But I never liked how they tasted."

As he looked at her he tried to remember if he had ever seen her actually eat strawberries, and found he couldn't recall any time. He sat back on his knees as he chuckled. "Hu, I never knew that. And I thought you'd love this whole thing."

Annie smiled as she crawled over to Jeff and gently kissed him. "I do. I know you're not that big into romance, so it means a lot that you put in the effort." Her smile turned into a seductive grin as she picked up the can of whipped cream. "And I never said I didn't like whipped cream."

Before Jeff could protest Annie pushed him until he was laying on his back. She took the can and sprayed a line of whipped cream from the top of his chest to his groin. She kissed him deeply before she licked the bit off his neck and started working her way south.

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**Number Four**: Scaring Annie didn't work when she had the hiccups.

"Jeff!" she yelled as she placed a hand over her chest. "Can you stop" hic "jumping out at me and yelling. It's not" hic "working."

"Fine," Jeff said as he rolled his eyes. "Scaring always works for me whenever I get the hiccups."

"Well it" hic "doesn't work for me. And it's easy for" hic "you. I'd just have to saw I was pregnant and you'd be scared" hic "straight."

She figured he'd simply roll his eyes and come back with a snarky comment. What she didn't expect was to actually see a real look of hurt in his eyes. "Right. Cause you're the only one here who can change. I guess I didn't realize how I feel about the direction my life is heading in."

She looked at Jeff as he sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, turning the volume up until it was almost deafening." "JEFF, CAN YOU TURN THAT DOWN!"

"I'M REALLY INTO THIS SHOW!"

Annie sat down next to him as she grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. "Hey, I was watching that."

"You were watching a show on roofing."

"I'm really into home repair."

Annie groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Jeff, can we please just talk about this. I'm sorry, all right. I just said that because I was angry you kept trying to scare me. I didn't even know you wanted to have kids."

Jeff was quiet as he stared out into space. Annie waited patiently until he finally turned towards her. "I'm not saying I want to have kids right now. But someday, when I'm ready, I'd like it if we had a couple of kids. Hell, if tomorrow you announced you were pregnant I'd be excited. Though that's after I passed out from shock."

Annie giggled as she stroked Jeff's arm. "That'd be a sight to see. Jeff, I really had no idea how you felt about having children. But hearing you say that…" She smiled as she looked into his eyes. "It means a lot. Because I do want to have kids someday. Not right now or anything-."

"No, me neither," Jeff quickly said.

"Just you know, someday. And when it does happen, I know you'll be a great father." She leaned in to kiss him before pulling back in surprise. "Hey, my hiccups are gone."

"So now I know talking about having kids gets rid of them. I'll keep that in mind the next time you get them," Jeff said as he kissed her.

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**Number Five**: Annie was fanatical about dental hygiene.

"Annie! Come to bed!" Jeff whined. After sex and all the alcohol he had had he would have thought he'd be out for the night. But Annie was in the bathroom and he couldn't get to sleep with the bathroom light on.

Jeff pulled his pillow over his head before kicking the sheets off and getting out of bed. He walked over to the open bathroom door to see how much longer Annie was going to be. He groaned when he saw that she was using her waterpik. "Oh come on! How much longer are you going to be?"

She spit a mouthful of water into the sink as she looked over at Jeff. "I'll be done soon. I've already brushed and flossed. I just have to finish with the pik and then use the mouthwash."

"Can't you do the abridged version just this once?"

"Jeff, I have to take care of my teeth. I had braces and a palate widener when I was a kid. I'm not going to let all that go to waste because of poor dental care."

"I'm sure one night isn't…" Jeff groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing it was easier if he didn't argue. "Just don't take too long."

He closed the bathroom door before going back to bed and turning onto his side. After about ten minutes he heard Annie come out of the bathroom and get into bed. As he heard her whisper good night to him he smiled. She might drive him crazy at times, but he wouldn't change a thing about her.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though you could already know a person for a while, there are certain things you don't learn about someone until you've lived with them and see them on a daily continuous basis. This was something Annie came to realize when she and Jeff got their own place and move in together. While they each learned several new aspects about each other, five things in particular Annie came to know about Jeff stuck out.

**Number one**: Jeff has a longer morning routine then she did.

"Jeff, come on," Annie yelled as she pounded on the bathroom door. "I have to get ready for work!"

"I'll be out in a minute!"

She groaned, knowing exactly what 'in a minute' translated as. It meant he would stay in there for as long as he could, regardless of the fact that someone else lived with him now. She had already eaten breakfast and made their bed to get stuff done while he was in there, but now she needed to shower and do her hair and makeup. Since she was an only child she never had to deal with sharing a bathroom in the morning when she was growing up. But she had a feeling this was what it would be like to grow up with an older sister.

"That's it, I'm coming in." She turned the doorknob and threw the door open, where she saw Jeff standing by the sink. He had a towel tied around his waist that was hanging very low over his hips, and was using a warm washcloth to wipe off some facial cleanser. She tried to ignore the droplets of water that were running down his body as she stared at him sternly. "Are you almost done Jeff? I have to get ready too."

"I just have to use the face mask and the moisturizer and then-."

Annie groaned in frustration, hating Jeff's daily beauty routine, even though she did enjoy the end result. Before he could apply anything else to his face she thrust the facial and moisturizing cleanser bottles in his hands and shoved him towards the door.

"Ok, all right, I'll use the mirror by the kitchen sink." He grinned back at her as he stumbled into the hallway. "You know, we could save some time if we simply showered together every day."

She closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief at finally having the bathroom to herself. As she pulled off her pajamas and got in the shower she smirked a little at Jeff's comment. She did like shower sex. But she was NOT going to reward Jeff's selfishness, no matter how much she enjoyed it.

Besides, she thought with a grin, that's what the weekend was for.

**Number Two**: Jeff likes Spongebob Squarepants.

If Annie had to pick a word to describe Jeff, whimsical would not be one of them. While he wasn't as overly concerned with appearing cool as he used to be, he didn't exactly go out of his way to partake in many things that would simply be considered silly. He did have a sense of humor and made her laugh a lot, but he himself just didn't seem to be a fan of silly things.

Which was why she found it almost shocking that he was a fan of the show Spongebob Squarepants.

She first became aware of this fact on one particular Saturday morning. She had gotten up early to get a few errands done before enjoying the day. When she came back she found Jeff in the living room watching the hyper-happy sponge flipping Krabby Patties. As she had a flashback to when she was living with Troy and Abed Jeff quickly changed the channel. "I was just flipping around and there wasn't anything else on," he said with false nonchalance. Annie looked at him as he sat there watching some show on Brave before she said, "Ok." She went into the kitchen to put away the orange juice and bananas she had bought, knowing there was more to this then Jeff was letting on.

A couple of weeks later she was going through a few boxes in their closet that they hadn't unpacked when they first moved in. As she opened a box and pulled out some sweaters of Jeff's Annie found a few miscellaneous items of his at the bottom of the box, among them a green DVD box set of the entire first season of Spongebob.

Her eyes widened when she saw it, since she knew it wasn't hers. He could explain away watching a random episode one morning. But owning an entire season wasn't something he could talk himself out of. She started laughing as she held the DVD set, but it wasn't because she was making fun of him. She found it sweet that Jeff would enjoy a silly cartoon. It was amusing and a bit comforting, and showed her that despite how well they knew each other, they still had a lot to learn about each other.

Annie put the sweaters back in the box and placed the DVD set right on top. She brought the box into their bedroom and set it on top of the bed. She then placed a post it on the DVD set and wrote: _I like the episodes when he's in boating school. XOXO_.

They never did mention that she found his DVD set or that he liked the show out loud. But the next time she was straightening up she found the Spongebob set with the rest of their DVDs. She smiled when she saw it, glad that Jeff was opening up more, in his own unique way.

**Number Three**: Jeff liked cats (or at least didn't mind them enough to live with one).

Annie was curled up on the couch reading Full Dark No Stars (a little present Jeff had gotten her earlier in the week) when the door opened and Jeff walked in excitedly. "Hey. How's the book?"

"Even for a Stephen King book this one is bleak." She slid in a bookmark and put the book down as she eyed the cardboard box her boyfriend was holding. "What have you got there?"

"It's a surprise. Close your eyes," he said excitedly.

Annie smiled back at him, curious to see what was causing Jeff to act this way. She closed her eyes as she heard Jeff set the box down, followed by the sound of something banging up against it. She listened carefully to the light banging before she felt something soft and furry drop into her lap. "Ok, open them."

She gasped in delight when she looked down and saw a tiny kitten with black and orange fur staring up at her. "AW! Jeff, he's adorable." She stroked the kitten's neck as he rubbed his head against her hand.

"Oh, now you're friendly. But when I tried to see what was in the box you had no problem scratching the hell out of me," Jeff said as he sat down and showed off the many scratches on his arms. "If these scar I'm going to be extra happy when it's time to get him fixed."

"He was probably just scared," Annie said. She laughed as the kitten started purring. "Where did you get him?"

"When I was leaving work I saw him in a box in the parking lot. I'm guessing someone just left him there. I figured it'd be nice to have a pet. Plus…at some point I'm assuming we're going to be parents. So this will kind of be a trial run at caring for another life."

Annie smiled as she looked up at Jeff. While they hadn't talked about it since the hiccup/child conversation, it was nice to know it was still on his mind. She looked back down as the kitten tried to climb up her arm. She giggled as he fell back into her lap and started kneaded her shirt. "You need a name little guy." She thought about it before she gasped in realization. "We should name him Tigger."

"Tigger?

"He has orange fur with black stripes, and he overestimates himself. It suits him."

"Yea sure. That works," Jeff said. He reached over and rubbed Tigger's head. The kitten looked over and batted at Jeff's hand. "Yea, this is going to work out real well."

**Number Four**: She and Jeff had the most unexpected thing in common.

Annie groaned as she finished looking through yet another crate of stuff. She had a great group photo of the seven of them at graduation and she was desperate to find it. A virus had infected her computer and she lost a number of files, including a great many of her photos. Luckily she had gotten a physical copy made of that particular picture before she lost the digital one. Now she just needed to find it.

Annie got up from the bedroom floor and looked around the room, retracing her steps. She had already looked through the living room and the box of photos that were in the one of the cabinets of the entertainment center. She had checked the drawers in the kitchen and the closet by the front door. And she had spent the better part of the last hour looking through their bedroom closet for it. And still no picture.

Annie went over to the end table on her side of the bed and started searching the double drawers. She found some things she had forgotten she had (including a lipstick she had misplaced sometime ago.) But she didn't find the picture.

As she closed the drawer she looked over at the end table on Jeff's side. It seemed unlikely that it would be in there. But she had already checked the expected places. It was time to look through a few unexpected locations. She sat on his side of the bed and looked through his drawer. She pulled out some cologne, a box of condoms, a bottle of lube (which she didn't even grimace over as she immediately knew what it was for), his watch, a box of q-tips, a few random receipts. As she searched her fingers brushed against a notebook. Thinking it might be a day planner she pulled the notebook out and opened it. She quickly turned the pages until she got to the latest pages, which was dated only a couple of days ago.

_April 7, 2016. _

_Allan showed up at work again, trying to talk his way back into his job. Like Bronson and Charles will have anything to do with him after what happened last year. I laughed when they had security remove him from the building._

_I don't want to assume anything, but I think they're seriously considering making me partner. With new owners of the firm I wasn't sure it would be a possibility. But they've been very impressed with me, especially after single handedly winning the Whishosky case. They have to know that even with the whole fake law degree thing I'm still the best lawyer they have there. And now with Allen gone I don't have to worry about him standing in my way. _

_As happy as I'll be to make partner, a part of me is really looking forward to telling Annie if it happens. She'll be so happy for me, and seeing her that happy always makes me feel-._

Annie quickly shut the notebook as the realization of exactly what she was reading hit her. She smiled softly as she had a flashback to the two of them in the makeshift hospital during the pillow fight civil war, where she has asked Jeff if he ever wrote in a journal just for himself after he said conversation was just about someone getting what they wanted. Whether or not it came directly from what she said that day or not, it made her feel good to know Jeff worked out his feelings the same way she did.

Although she was severely temped to see what else he had written, she knew it would be wrong to read it. And she knew he respected her enough not to invade her privacy and read her diaries. She carefully put the journal back in Jeff's drawer and replaced the items on top as best as she could, hoping he didn't suspect that she had been in there.

"Annie?"

"I'm in here Jeff!" she called out.

The bedroom door opened and Jeff stepped into the room, looking at her in bewilderment. "Did a tornado pass through here today?"

"I was looking for the copy of that picture of all of us at graduation, since I lost it on my computer."

"Yea." Jeff grinned a little as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a few copies of the elusive photo. "Here you go."

"Jeff!" Annie scrambled up from the bed and took the three pictures in amazement. "Where did you get these?"

"Shirley had it. She texted me this morning and said you gave her the copy you made, so I took it to CVS and made a few copies."

Annie hugged Jeff tightly, almost sagging against him in relief. "Thank you so much. I was going crazy looking for it. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it'd be a nice surprise. Though if I knew you were going to tear the place apart I would have been fine ruining it."

Annie groaned lightly as she pulled back and observed their room and as much as she could see outside the bedroom. "Wow, it really is a mess here. Come on, let's start cleaning."

"What do you mean we? You're the one who made the mess." He smirked back at her as Annie glared at him. "Fine."

He actually did help her clean and reorganize the place. Although Jeff complained so much that by the time it was finished Annie almost wished she had just done to herself. 

**Number Five**: None of the big moments in their life together ever go according to plan.

Jeff and Annie both sat next to each other, periodically glancing up at the wall clock. They had been in the vet's waiting room for close to an hour now. Annie kept bobbing her knee up and down nervously, in spite of Jeff's hand over it to try and comfort her.

"Don't worry, Tigger will be fine," Jeff said with a hint of uncertainty in his own voice. "The vet said it's a simple procedure."

"I know," Annie said nervously.

They both continued to look at the wall clock before Jeff cleared his throat. "You never did give me an answer."

"Jeff, our cat is being operated on to remove a diamond ring from his stomach, and that's what you're worried about?"

"I'm just saying, this kind of isn't something you can just leave unresolved."

"Well, I'm not giving you an answer until we know our cat is fine, and I'm looking at the ring again. It wouldn't feel right to give you my answer without the actual ring."

"Right, cause you don't know what was happening," Jeff said sarcastically. "I got on one knee, opened a jewelry box and said 'Annie, will you marry', before the stupid cat pounced on me and ate the ring."

"Don't be mad at him." Annie took a calming breath before moving her fingers up Jeff's arm. "I think you already know my answer Jeff."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't know what you'd say, since that's a humiliation no person should have to go through," Jeff said. "But I'd still like to actually hear your answer."

Annie rolled her eyes playfully as she smiled brightly. "Yes Jeff, I will marry you. Even if you drive me crazy at times, and we'll have the weirdest engagement story ever, I will happily marry you." She kissed him before sighing mournfully. "It would be nice though if we had one normal coupley moment between us."

"Annie, look at us. I had just entered my teenage years when you were born. It took the better part of four years for me to actually get my shit together and realize I couldn't not have you in my life. And then I had to do some major convincing to have you give me a chance I didn't really deserve. Our first date was a disaster. The first time we had sex we ended up in the emergency room, where I had to tell a doctor, 'No, my girlfriend's bruised wrist and my dislocated shoulder are _not _a result of domestic abuse.' If you want I can keep going, but pretty much everything about us is outside the status quo. Honestly, I'd be a little worried if our proposal did go traditionally."

"Our lives are weird," Annie said with a laugh.

"Little bit. And I wouldn't have it any other way," Jeff said with a smile.

"I believe this is yours." They both looked over as the veterinarian came out holding a diamond ring in his hands.

"Oh, thank you," Annie said breathlessly as she went over and took the ring. "How's Tigger?"

"He's fine. He's resting right now, but you can see him in a little bit and then take him home. I'll come get you two when he's ready."

"See, Tigger's fine," Jeff said, sounding more relieved than he had been letting on. He took the ring from her fingers before gently grasping hold of her hand. "Let's try this again. Annie Edison, will you marry me?"

Happiness seemed to radiate out of her pores as Annie smiled brightly at Jeff. "Yes Jeff. I will marry you." A look of disgust came over her eyes as she glanced down at the ring. "But can you not put the ring on until I've boiled it, or at least scrubbed it with bleach. It's just been in a cat's stomach."

Jeff laughed as he took the ring and pocketed it before deeply kissing his girlfriend/fiancée. Even when they tried for a redo they still couldn't get it to go exactly as planned.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
